This message is from: Kathleen Prince <kathl...@pookiebros.com> > So, any " pmu " foal for the last 4 years have not > been bred for that market, but for the " rescue " market. Blue Moon > Ranch, > assisted by the Animali Farms adoption group targets people looking > to save a buck > and / or save a horse, but either way, all are foals bred just to > produce more > foals to sell for that horse breeder. . . . . . breeder(s) who have > made more on the " > rescue " industry and peoples heartstrings than they were ever paid > for the > PMU lines.
I am uniquely qualified to participate in this thread, as my mare is from Blue Moon and I "adopted" her from The Animali Farm. I want to preface this by saying I'm glad I have my mare and her healthy, happy filly but I would not do this again. I had never seen a fjordhorse until I stumbled on the "pmu rescue" website. I get a lot of rescue emails since I have spent many years in the dog rescue world. I was instantly smitten and began researching fjords. I was able to find one breeder in my state but my heart kept telling me I had to rescue a horse if I was ever to have one - after all I'm a rescue person. I started getting strange vibes from the beginning of dealing with the group, but ignored them because I was on a mission to save this mare and her unborn foal. I had offered the rancher to pay to feed her if they would keep her - since affording to feed everyone was the quoted reason for selling the mares. They refused. Apparently a few yeas ago they had over 200 mares, this past year they were down to 30. I never had direct dealings with Blue Moon, it was all through Animali. I found their contact info and have tried several times to get questions answered but to no avail. Blue Moon's owner is the daughter of who was supposedly one of the first fjord breeders in Canada. Her brother has a big ranch also that sells a lot of PMU mares & foals to us American suckers. The cost to "adopt" my mare was just over $2100. That included the shipping 3,000 miles to FL. It was never about the money - I was one of the heartstrings. Everyone tried to talk me out of it. My friends begged me to go to the good breeder here and get a good, trained fjord but I just couldn't. So, my mare came a year ago and boy have we all learned a lot! First off, the horse I picked up is not the horse I was supposed to get. I picked up the correct number that corresponded with the truckers paperwork and her butt tag, but the "adoption papers" and website information conflicted. Animal Farm blew this off as no big deal and they had just got her birthdate wrong - they deal with hundreds of horses, so mistakes happen. It ended up being a good thing I got the wrong horse, though, because mine was much more people friendly than the one that ended up in California. It took her adopter a month just to get a halter on her. My mare, Cassidy, has come a long way and our relationship is solid and I cherish her. But, she may never be anything more than beautiful - that is from my trainer. She' s much more like a wild horse than a domestic horse. I don't think she was ever in any pee barns but she was simply out having babies with no handling whatsoever. Being a novice horse person, I've overcome many fears right along with my horse. Right or wrong she is mine and I am hers. The best thing to come out of the whole experience is the friendship of several of the other adopters. Most of us have come to the same realization in regards to the rescue group really being a broker for these unscrupulous breeders. Several of us brought this up to Animali and they no longer list the Blue Moon fjords on their site but give the contact info for them. I have a big problem in the fact Animali actually breeds, too. Many mares came with health and behavioral issues. A few babies were born with deficiencies or didn't make it at all. One of the fjords that were with mine died of EPSM before she gave birth. Another pregnant mare (there were 90 in the initial "rescue drive" last year) died from sand colic shortly after getting to her new home.So, we've all learned a lot. We've all felt a lot. My husband and I are not planning on having any more horses other than the mom and baby we have, but if we did I would go to a responsible breeder. You can see our whole story at: http://cassidyapril.com/ -- Kathleen Prince kathl...@pookiebros.com Pookie Bros. Pet Sitting Professional Pet Care In Your Home! http://www.pookiebros.com Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
